News

An 8-MGD water reclamation system in Northern California was experiencing membrane fouling that was increasing the required feed pressure to produce water. A membrane autopsy showed that the fouling was caused by silica scale. Membrane Cleaning Chemicals Results - Train One & Three The system consisted of three trains, each designed to produce 1850 gpm of permeate at a feed pressure of 145 psi. When the required feed pressure to produce 1850 gpm increased by over 27%, Train 1 and Train 3 were cleaned using an ammonium bifluoride (ABF) based cleaner. The ABF based cleaner performed well, decreasing feed pressures...

An 8-MGD water reclamation system in Northern California was experiencing membrane fouling that was increasing the required feed pressure to produce water. A membrane autopsy showed that the fouling was caused by silica scale. Membrane Cleaning Chemicals Results - Train One & Three The system consisted of three trains, each designed to produce 1850 gpm of permeate at a feed pressure of 145 psi. When the required feed pressure to produce 1850 gpm increased by over 27%, Train 1 and Train 3 were cleaned using an ammonium bifluoride (ABF) based cleaner. The ABF based cleaner performed well, decreasing feed pressures...

Conservation Efforts Results in Large Reverse Osmosis Plant in California Conserving water has long been a major concern in California. This situation has forced the state to implement emergency water-conservation measures as it struggles to cope with an ongoing drought that has depleted reservoirs and left farms parched. The Orange County Water District (OCWD) has focused on increasing water reuse efforts by building one of the world’s largest wastewater reuse RO plants. During normal operation the district had experienced numerous silica scaling incidents which has resulted in cleaning their membranes with cleaners that contain ammonium bi-fluoride, a hazardous chemical. This...

What are Reverse Osmosis Chemicals and RO Antiscalants? Reverse osmosis chemicals, or RO Chemicals, and RO antiscalants are specialty chemicals that are added upstream of a reverse osmosis membrane system. These reverse osmosis chemicals are designed to prevent or slow-down mineral scale formation on the membrane surface. For this reason, the right antiscalant is critical for the consistent operation of a reverse osmosis system. Mineral scale is formed when the dissolved minerals in water are allowed to concentrate to beyond their saturation limit, where they will start to come out of solution.  Similar to water spots on a window, the...

Alkalinity is Vital for Reverse Osmosis and Nanofiltration Membrane Plant Operators The word “alkalinity” is probably one of the most commonly used in our industry. Reverse Osmosis (RO) and Nanofiltration (NF) plant operators have to measure the alkalinity in the feed to their membrane plant, as well as in the permeate and finished water. We all know that high alkalinity in the feed water can cause membrane scaling and that low alkalinity in the finished water can cause corrosion. But what does alkalinity actually mean? Since pH is a measure of the free acid (hydrogen protons) in the water, the...

AWC® was proud to host a Membrane Autopsy Workshop organized by ALADYR (Asociacion Latino Americana de Desalacion y Reuso) at our facility in Plant City at the end of October.  The 25 attendees consisted of End Users, System Integrators and Engineering Companies from various countries in Latin America. The workshop started with a brief overview of the various autopsy techniques used in identifying membrane fouling and/or damage.  The participants were then divided into three groups for the hands-on sessions: RO and UF Membrane Performance Testing, Integrity Testing, and Cleaning Studies. Visual Inspection, Foulant Collection, Foulant Solubility Tests, and Fujiwara Testing....